Development initiative lauded at UN

The Global Development Initiative (GDI) responds to "the call of the times and meets the needs of various countries" and is of great significance to developing countries in implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said foreign ministers and senior UN officials.

A high-level virtual meeting of the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative was held Monday at UN Headquarters in New York.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a speech via video, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also delivered a video speech.

Noting that more than 100 countries expressed support, and as many as 53 countries have joined the Group of Friends, Wang said it fully shows that the GDI responds to the "the call of the times and meets the needs of various countries".

"It is important to uphold the right of people of all countries to choose their own development paths and oppose interference in other countries' internal affairs and unilateral sanctions without basis in international law," Wang said.

"We are fast approaching the midpoint of the time available to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. I will be blunt — progress is in peril," said Guterres.

"We must do better. And we can. Your discussions through the Global Development Initiative can help move the needle on development progress across all countries," he said.

The GDI is crucial for developing countries to act on major global challenges by implementing the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.

"We also appreciate your openness and inclusiveness of GDI," he said. The Group of Friends of the GDI has the capacity to "reach out and strengthen concrete collaboration between the groups of friends at the United Nations on development issue".

"I hope that more countries would join with this initiative," said Pramudwinai.

"Kazakhstan has welcomed the Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping," said Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The initiative comes at the right time and responds to the urgent needs of developing countries, he said.

The GDI responds to the urgent needs of global development and helps to bring together forces, focus on key areas, and contribute to global development, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic, Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin said in a panel discussion.

Singaporean Ambassador to the UN Burhan Gafoor said the GDI can be a "booster shot" to multilateralism and the UN development system. The GDI can "make important contributions" to strengthen collaborations with the UN agenda and international institutions to achieve synergy at the national, regional and global levels.

Permanent Representative of South Africa to the UN Mathu Joyini said digital connectivity and green recovery are of great significance to developing countries, and she looks forward to using the group as a platform to form greater synergy in related fields.

The heads of UN development agencies such as the Administrator of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Achim Steiner and Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Qu Dongyu said that the GDI is highly consistent with the priority areas of each agency, and they are willing to make full use of their professional advantages to support the implementation of the initiative.

More than 150 representatives from more than 60 countries attended Monday's meeting, including Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Zhang Jun chaired the meeting and delivered closing remarks. He said the meeting achieved four outcomes.

First, Zhang said, was a new consensus: "Ever since its introduction, the GDI has been well-received by the international community, and the Group of Friends has?also drawn wide attention at the UN. Through today's meeting, we have further consolidated our recognition and support of the initiative and forged new consensus on solidarity and cooperation."

Second, he said, are new projects. More than half a year after its introduction, the initiative "has been gradually translated from concept to practice, and we have started to see early harvests", he said.

Third are new pathways, said Zhang: "All parties agreed that the Group has become an effective platform for promoting GDI implementation at the UN and look forward to expanding practical cooperation. China will work with other members to formulate working plans of the group."

Fourth is a new momentum. The meeting had in-depth discussions on the eight priority areas of the GDI, which "fully reflect the prominent challenges facing today's global development" and serve as "focus points for accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda", Zhang said.